Articulating Culture(s): Being Black in Wilcannia

Lorraine Douglas Gibson BSocSc (Hons)

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy Macquarie University MARCH 2006

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* Thesis' includes ' treatise', ' dissertation' and other similar productions. Cover Image: 'Welcome to Wilcannia', lino print by Badger Bates Table of Contents

Table of Images Hi Table of Maps v Abstract vii Acknowledgements xi Prologue 1 Introduction - Coming to Wilcannia 6 Normalising Categories - Pre-Conceptions about being Black in 9 Just Any Day in Wilcannia 11 Wilcannia - A Little History 14 Aboriginal people of Wilcannia - Past and Present 18 Non-Aboriginal People in Wilcannia 24 Traditional Culture and Detribalised Aborigines - What's in a Name? 25 The Anthropology of Settled Australia 28 The 'Law' and Tradition - Art and The Dreaming 33 Some Effects on Aborigines 37 Why Wilcannia? 40 Reflexive Hooks - Locating Myself and Being Located 43 On Being Scottish 44 Thesis Description 47 Chapter 1: Wilcannia - Plenty of Aborigines, but no Culture 48 Part A: A Black for all Seasons 48 A Working Model of Culture 51 Continuing Intersections 52 Stereotypes and Their Affects - Three Ethnographic Examples 59 Part B: The Place of Art in Culture 63 Conflating Aboriginal Art and Culture 65 Locating Assumptions: Timeless Mystic or Drunken Bastard 69 Producing Art and Culture 71 Chapter2-Who You Is? 77 Occupation and Social Placement 78 Work and Identity 86 Work and Leisure 90 Work, Productivity and Social Value - Different Interpretations 93 Chapter 3. Cultural Values: Ambivalences and Ambiguities 106 Work and Intercultural Identity 107 Coconuts 113 Caring and Sharing 119 Variations in Access to Resources and Attitudes to Caring and Sharing 125 Leaving Wilcannia and the Ambiguity of Identity 132

l Chapter 4. Praise, Success and Opportunity 137 Monitoring for Praise, Success and Opportunity - "Our Way" 140 Praise and Adults 143 Egalitarianlsm and Getting Above Yourself. 146 The Language of the Tall Poppy 148 The Special Case of Artists 152 Chapter 5. "Art an' Culture: the Two Main Things, Right?" 154 Artist is Not Who or What I Am 155 'Signs' and 'Practices' of Art in Wilcannia - Past and Present 158 Art as a Signifying Cultural Practice 164 Art and Culture - A Meaningful Liaison 168 Emu Eggs - Depictions and Their Changing Interpretations 171 What Art 'Does' and its Relationship to 'Culture' 176 Place Lines - Art Styles and Subject Matter as a Means of Affirming Cultural Identity 181 Chapter 6 - Big Murray Butcher: 'We Still Doin' It' 186 Ethnography as Partial and Positioned. 186 'We Still Doin' the Same Designs on Our Art Work' 191 Art as Performance and Renewal 194 Museums and Cylcons - Refle(x)ion and Motivation 200 Objects and Personhood 205 Chapter 7 - Granny Moisey's Baby: The Art of Badger Bates 215 One Man's Art and Culture 215 Compelling Art 221 Art From Early Days Till Now - Context and Circumstance 225 Art Media 226 Art Talk 230 For 'My White Way'and 'My Black Way' 234 Personal Influence and Culture 237 Epilogue 244 Culture: the Holy Grail 244 Art: a New Way of Being Aboriginal 249 Appendices 253 Appendix 1 253 Appendix 2. 253 Appendix 3 255 Other matters for consideration 256 Bibliography 257

a Table of Images

Image 1. The Wilcannia Bridge and (in drought) 2003 1 Image 2. The sign listing 'Things to see and do in Wilcannia', Myers Street Wilcannia 3 Image 3. Remains of the old Wilcannia wharf. 14 Image 4. Council Building (1890), Reid Street Wilcannia 15 Image 5. Derelict shops in Reid Street 16 Image 6. The IGA supermarket in the 'wee small hours' 16 Image 7. The Club Hotel (the pub) on the corner of Myers and Reid Streets 17 Image 8. Wilcannia Central School, Hood Street 17 Image 9. The 'Mallee' from the top of the water towers 20 Image 10. Wilcannia town from the top of the water towers 21 Image 11. Mutawintji National Park 23 Image 12. Lino print l Ngatji Nguku Minger' {Ngatji [Rainbow Serpent] at his waterhole) by Badger Bates 39 Image 13. Sand painting of Ngatji with her eggs by Phillip Bates 39 Image 14. The Darling River downriver from Wilcannia 41 Image 15. Having a sing-along at the 'Mission' 46 Image 16. Rock engraving of a hunter at Mutawintji 69 Image 17. Stencils at Mutawintji 70 Image 18. The Old 'Mobil' site 82 Image 19. Cyril Hunter and his grandson Chris, fishing at Scobie's hole 128 Image 20. The now closed Kaathiri Aboriginal Arts and Craft Centre, Reid Street Wilcannia 159 Image 21. Painted sign for Pamtu (cod) art centre by Karen Riley 160 Image 22. Painting, (gloss paint on plywood) stacked against wall in old public house/hotel 161 Image 23. Painting (acrylic on board) in old public house/hotel 162 Image 24. Margaret (Miss Marg) Mitchell incorporates emu feathers into mobiles and hangings together with painted seed pods and beads 162 Image 25. Acrylic painting by Phillip Bates showing 'spirit man' and thuli (sand goanna) 166 Image 26. Acrylic painting which Phillip says is of him and his 'woman' and 'kids' 167

iii Image 27. Rock art stencils at Mutawintji 173 Image 28. Lino print 'Life on the Darling' by Badger Bates 174 Image 29. Emu egg carved by Badger Bates 174 Image 30. Acrylic painting on canvas by Willie Don Hunter 177 Image 31. Acrylic on canvas painting by Willie Don Hunter 178 Image 32. Acrylic on canvas by Phillip Bates 179 Image 33. Acrylic on canvas showing Ngatji by Wayne Ebsworth 183 Image 34. Acrylic on board showing freshwater turtles by Willie Don Hunter 183 Image 35. Murray Butcher standing in amongst the 'poached egg daisies' at 'one mile sandhill' east of the Darling River at Wilcannia 189 Image 36. Acrylic painting on canvas of 'Makwara and Kilpara' (the two Barkindji Moieties) by Murray Butcher 192 Image 37. Pen on paper drawing, 'Nan and Pop coming to Wilcannia' by Murray Butcher 195 Image 38. Pen drawing on paper, 'The making of the Darling' by Murray Butcher 196 Image 39. 'A's painting, acrylic on board by Murray Butcher 197 Image 40. Pen drawing on paper by Murray Butcher. 201 Image 41. Pen drawing on paper by Murray Butcher 201 Image 42. Incised Cylindro Conical and Cornute stone from Lindsay Black (1942) 203 Image 43. Non-incised 'Cylcon' given to me by a Torres Strait Islander man in 207 Image 44. Badger at left supposedly 'stealing' a chicken with Christopher in the role of white boss 215 Image 45. Badger and Christopher acting out their respective roles 216 Image 46. Badger with a pig tusk tied on string round his neck and a small towel as a'lap-lap' 216 Image 47. Badger Bates in his shed in 2002 217 Image 48. Lino print 'Teaching and Hunting' by Badger Bates 220 Image 49. Badger far left with his mate Cyril Hunter on his immediate left and other 'classmates' in 1954 223 Image 50. Lino print 'Mutawintji' by Badger Bates 226 Image 51. Lino print Thina Yapa (foot tracks) by Badger Bates 227 Image 52. Lino print Bilyara (Eaglehawk) by Badger Bates 228 Image 53. 'Dragon Fly' sculpture made with recycled metals by Badger Bates 228 Image 54. Stone sculpture outside the Broken Hill Entertainment Centre and Art Gallery by Badger Bates 229 Image 55. Red gum carving of Ngatji in the weeds by Badger Bates 234 Image 56. Lino print, 'Bush tucker on the Paroo' by Badger Bates 235

IV Table of Maps

Map 1. The town of Wilcannia showing the 'Mission' and the 'Mallee' 19

v

Abstract

Dominant society discourses and images have long depicted the Aboriginal people of the town of Wilcannia in far Western New South Wales as having no 'culture'. In asking what this means and how this situation might have come about, the thesis seeks to respond through an ethnographic exploration of these discourses and images. The work explores problematic and polemic dominant society assumptions regarding 'culture' and 'Aboriginal culture', their synonyms and their effects. The work offers Aboriginal counter-discourses to the claim of most white locals and dominant culture that the Aboriginal people of Wilcannia have no culture. In so doing the work presents reflexive notions about 'culture' as verbalised and practiced, as well as providing an ethnography of how culture is more tacitly lived.

Broadly, the thesis looks at what it is to be Aboriginal in Wilcannia from both white and black perspectives. The overarching concern of this thesis is a desire to unpack what it means to be black in Wilcannia. The thesis is primarily about the competing values and points of view within and between cultures, the ways in which Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people tacitly and reflexively express and interpret difference, and the ambivalence and ambiguity that come to bear in these interactions and experiences. This thesis demonstrates how ideas and actions pertaining to 'race' and 'culture' operate in tandem through an exploration of values and practices relating to 'work', 'productivity', 'success', 'opportunity' and the domain of 'art'. These themes are used as vehicles to understanding the 'on the ground' effects and affects of cultural perceptions and difference. They serve also to demonstrate the ambiguity and ambivalence that is experienced as well as being brought to bear upon relationships which implicitly and explicitly are concerned with, and concern themselves with difference.

Vll viii This is to certify that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. All work contained within this document is original and my own, unless otherwise acknowledged.

Lorraine Douglas Gibson

Date: x?A 09-y- PC

ix X Acknowledgements

There are many people who have contributed to the work of this thesis. First and foremost I wish to acknowledge and thank the people of Wilcannia and Broken Hill without whom this work could not have been produced, some of whom sadly are no longer with us. I continue to be enriched by these friendships and experiences. My special thanks go to Badger Bates, Murray Butcher and William Bates for their generosity of spirit and their interest in and contribution to this project, and to Jenny Thwaites for her hospitality.

I would like to acknowledge Dr Jennifer Biddle an impressive theorist and my initial supervisor during the early stages of the thesis. Dr Biddle provided the valuable advice that a PhD does not get completed by thinking alone, but by 'writing, writing, and more writing'. I am deeply grateful to my main supervisor Dr Kirsten Bell who gave so freely of her time and intellect and, who offered constant and regular encouragement and feedback. I enjoyed our discussions immensely and they have enriched this thesis in many ways. Dr Bell's engagement with my work and ideas, her recognition of and attention to the very real 'deadline' pressures of that 'new beast' - the four year anthropology PhD - is much appreciated as was her pastoral care. I am extremely grateful and feel privileged to have had Dr Jeremy Beckett generously take on the role of adjunct co-supervisor in the last year of my candidature. Dr Beckett's experience, candid and insightful comments are much valued and have benefited the final product in no small way.

I was fortunate to have been a candidate at Macquarie prior to the recent retirement of some eminent scholars who enlivened my sense of anthropology and its possibilities, and whose generosity of intellectual spirit will be hard to replace. I am especially grateful to Dr Ian Bedford who has been something of a mentor to me throughout this 'anthropological' life, offering sound advice and encouragement.

To my co-postgraduate friends and colleagues, Anjalee Cohen, Rochelle Spencer, Martina Wardell and Kristina Everett, and to those in the 'old guard', Jennifer Deger, Jovan Maud, Malcolm Haddon and Rosemary Wiss, I have enjoyed the camaraderie, the discussions and the sharing of our respective journeys enormously and know that this will continue. Thank you also to the staff of the Department of Anthropology for stimulating my thinking, and to Frances Happ for her support and understanding of the PhD process.

xi I am grateful for the financial assistance which facilitated the fieldwork and writing up process, namely, the provision of a Macquarie University Research Area and Centre for Excellence (RAACE) scholarship, funding from the Macquarie University Postgraduate Research Association (MUPRA), the Division of Society Culture, Media and Philosophy (SCMP) and a substantial grant (G2003/6777) from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies (AIATSIS). The completion of this work would not have been possible without this support.

Last but not least, my thanks go to Paul, Emma and Fraser who have helped in the production of this thesis in more ways than they know, as has Mr De-Bortoli's refreshing evening input.

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